


30 Minutes or Less

by Anonymous



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 00:38:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3630165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Arthur expected at 2:00 AM was his phone to ring with an order for pizza.</p>
            </blockquote>





	30 Minutes or Less

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](https://youtu.be/rTJT3fVv1vU) SuperBowl commercial. There may or may not be a second chapter added later.

 

Arthur’s phone shrieked into life, the horribly obnoxious strains of _“Do You Believe in Magic”_ filling his flat. He groaned and rolled over in bed, smacking the mobile to get it to stop before bringing it to his ear. He didn’t have to look at the screen to know who it was. Only one person had been masochistic enough to program that as his ringtone.

“Merlin, you had better be lying on the side of the road dying right now. It’s two in the fucking morning.”

“Yes, I’d like to order a large pizza, please?”

Arthur scrubbed a hand over his face to attempt to rub out the sleep. “Wh- pizza? Merlin, are you drunk?”

“No. Just the pizza.”

He was. Merlin was fucking drunk at two o’clock in the morning on a fucking Wednesday. Arthur couldn’t believe him. Merlin _knew_ what a lightweight he was. Normally he barely even finished a single pint at the pub. He must have gotten _smashed_ to be pulling something like this.

“I’m hanging up now, Merlin,” he growled. “When you finally sober up you better remember you owe me big time for this one.”

“Yes, can I get that half pepperoni and half anchovy?”

Okay, maybe Merlin wasn’t drunk. No, he was completely _mental_. Arthur had lived with Merlin through four years of uni and two years after that before Merlin had moved out to live “by his own means.” He knew his friend’s preferences better than anyone, and that included more than just what his kinks were (which Arthur had committed to memory for perfectly innocent reasons that had nothing to do with the fact that he had fancied the man since they’d laid eyes on each other at age five).

In that six years of living together and the decades they had been friends, Arthur and Merlin had had pizza more times than was probably healthy. And Arthur had therefore heard Merlin repeat on several occasions the exact same words “ _You can order anything you like, but don’t let those nasty anchovies of yours anywhere within a league of **my** pizza. Seriously, if you ever hear me order anchovies, you can assume it’s because I am under massive duress. Like Saw IV kinda torture.”_

Arthur had seen Merlin drunk before. Arthur had watched Merlin order pizza drunk before. But no matter how pissed he was, Merlin never _ever_ forgot how much he hated anchovies. “Merlin?” he asked hesitantly, “is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

Now that he was listening for it, Arthur could hear the tremor in Merlin’s voice. Suddenly wide awake, he tossed off the covers and slipped on his house shoes. “What happened?”

“On second thought, make that extra anchovies.”

Arthur paused. “Is there a reason you’re still giving me a pizza order?”

“Yes.”

“Merlin... is someone there threatening you?” He held his breath as he waited for the answer, praying it wouldn’t be the one he feared.

“Yes.”

“Shite.” Arthur flew into action again, tossing on clothes without looking at them. “Are you okay? Have they hurt you?”

“Can you make the anchovy half light cheese? I’m lactose intolerant; I don’t want this thing to send me to the A&E.”

He froze again. “Are you serious?” Oh God. Who could have done this? Why would anyone want to hurt Merlin so badly? “Merlin, hang on, I’m calling an ambulance.”

“No, soy doesn’t agree with me either,” Merlin said quickly, and Arthur noted the slightest hint of panic had edged in. “Just a little bit of cheese, and I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re that badly hurt you need to go to the hospital.” He picked up the landline from the counter, punching in the triple 9’s.

“I was exaggerating about the cheese, okay? Just forget it. Put as much on as you want.”

Arthur grudgingly lowered the phone, but he didn’t erase the digits. “Merlin, where are you? Is Julius there with you? Is he hurt too?”

“My boyfriend will buzz you in when you get here. He’ll be the one to get the door.”

“Fuck!” Arthur shouted, and he could almost see Merlin wince on the other end of the line. Julius had been with Merlin the longest of anyone Arthur had ever known about. Merlin never really dated for keeps, preferring friendship with benefits to relationships. But against all odds Julius had stuck around, eventually moving in with him. They’d just had their one year anniversary a few weeks ago. “Merlin, did that scumbag beat you? I’m going to _kill_ _him_. I’ll be right there, Merlin, I promise.”

“No don’t!” Merlin yelped, then quickly recovered. “I mean, you should be careful. It’s a rough neighbourhood. Don’t… please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Something stupid? Me?” There wasn’t even the smallest answering laugh. That almost more than anything told him how serious the situation was. Arthur made his voice as soothing as he could to reassure his friend. “I’m coming to get you, Merlin, okay? Can you stay on the phone with me?”

There was an audible sigh of relief. “No. How long will it be until that gets here?”

“Thirty minutes or less, Merlin, I promise. Then you’ll be free.”

 


End file.
